Means for discharging fluid pressure containers



March 2,1937. s, E, ALLEN 2,072,577

MEANS FOR DISCHARGING FLUID PRESSURE CONTAINERS Filed Jan. 10, 1935 2Sheets-Sheet l m a7 INVENTOR.

I A TTORNEY.

March 2, 1937. s, E, ALLEN 2,072,577

MEANS FOR DISGHARGING FLUID PRESSURE CONTAINERS Filed Jan. 10, 1933 2Sheets-Sheet 2 am 194.43% 'FF. a6" J I I g 627 A wwvsw 34 INVENTOR.Scorr tTflME/V BY v W mm Patented Mar. 2, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE MEANS FOR DISCHARGING FLUID PRES- SURE CONTAINERS DelawareApplication January 10, 1933, Serial No. 650,957

33 Claims.

The present invention relates to means for discharging fluids fromcontainers and more particularly to the discharge of cylinders or thelike containing fluid under high pressure such, for instance, asliquefied carbon dioxide.

The invention has for a specific object to provide an improved dischargehead for a cylinder containing high pressure fluid in which the fluidreleased from the cylinder or from an associated cylinder will assist inoperating the discharge head, thereby rendering the discharge head inpart self-energizing.

In a copending application, Serial No. 349,150, filed March 22, 1929, aself -energizing fluid actuated discharge head is described. However,the

present invention diifers therefrom in that the discharge head isnormally inoperative by fluid pressure and cannot be actuated untilafter an initial manual operation. This precludes the possibility of thedischarge of a cylinder by an accidental discharge of an associatecylinder.

Another object of the present invention is to providea discharge headadapted for manual operation, but in which after an initial partialrelease of fluid from the containersuch manual operation may be aided bythe fluid released. The manual operating means may serve merely torelease power with which to complete operation of the dischargemechanism. At the same time, however, the manual means may be reliedupon to efiect the entire release or discharge of the fluid without theaid of the fluid pressure if for any reason there should be a failure ofthe fluid pressure operated means.

My invention is particularly adapted for use in fire extinguishingsystems employing a battery of cylinders containing liquefied carbondioxide or other fluid extinguisher maintained at high pressure.Usually, the cylinders are closed by sealing disks which must bepunctured or ruptured to release the fluid, but it requires considerableefiort to puncture each disc and the puncturing of the disk of a batteryof cylinders simultaneously may call for a greater effort than a personcan normally exert. This difllculty has' 0 from the master cylinders toset off the rest of the battery. Such auxiliary power mechanism adds tothe expense of an installation; it necessitates the actuation of aparticular discharge head to effect discharge of the battery; also ifthe master cylinder has to be disconnected for refilling or repair thewhole system is thrown out of operation until the cylinder is restoredto the system. Another system is described in Patent No. 1,827,723,wherein actuation of the discharge head of any one cylinder willresultin discharge of all the rest of the cylinders. Each cylinder isprovided with a fluid pressure operated discharge head and all thecylinders are interconnected so that when fluid under pressure isdischarged into the system all of the cylinders will be discharged. Inthe present invention also a fluid-actuated means is provided in eachdischarge head and all the heads are connected to a common deliveryline, but accidental-discharge of any cylinder will not set off the restbecause a manual operation of each discharge head is necessary before itcan be set off automatically.

A further object of my invention is to'provide a common manual controlfor a battery of cylinders in which one or more cylinders may be set ofiprior to the others, but in which the latter will be prepared foroperation by discharge of fluid from the first actuated cylinder.

Another object of the invention is to provide a system of the characterdescribed in which any cylinder of a battery may be disconnected withoutaffecting the operativeness of the system as a whole.

Another object of the invention is not only to prevent discharge of abattery of cylinders when one cylinder is accidentally discharged but toprevent dangerous explosion in case of breakage due to careless handlingof the cylinder. The weakest part of the cylinder is at the point wherethe discharge head is attached thereto. Occasionally when a cylinderfalls over or is dropped a break occurs at this point. The fluid thendischarges with explosive force sometimes resulting in serious damage.

It is a specific object of my invention to provide a check valve whichis normally inoperative to check discharge from the cylinder, but whichwill come into operation when the discharge head is broken off thecylinder.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear in thefollowing description of a preferred embodiment and modification thereofand thereafter the novelty and scope of the invention will be pointedout in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings;

Figure 1 is a plan view of a battery of cylinders containing highlycompressed flre extinguishing fluid;

Fig. 2 is a fragmental view in front elevation of one of the cylindersand its discharge head with portions thereof in section showing a cutterand a safety valve in normal position;

Fig. 3 is a fragmental view in section corresponding to a portion ofFig. 2 but showing the cutter in cutting position;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the safety valve;

Fig. 5 is a fragmental view in vertical section showing a slightlydifferent form of cutter head;

Fig. 6 is a fragmental view, largely in vertical section, illustratinganother form of cutter;

Fig. '1 is a fragmental view in perspective of the cutter shown in Fig.6;

Figs. 8 to 10 inclusive are plan views showing successive steps in thecutting of a sealing disk by the cutter illustrated in Figs. 6 and '7;and

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the sealing disk after a flap has been cut outof the disk and showing the flap partly bent upward by fluid pressure.

The cylinders Ill, shown in the drawings, are oi the usual form adaptedfor storage of highly compressed flre extinguishing fluid such, forinstance, as liquefied carbon dioxide. The neck H of each cylinder has aneck stem l2 threaded therein. This stem has an axial bore I3therethrough which is normally closed by a sealing disk H. The disk isseated on a shoulder l5 in the bore and is held to its seat by a tubularplug l3 threaded into the upper end of the neck stem. The stem 2 carriesthe usual valved fltting II for filling the cylinder. Threaded into thelower end of the stem I2 is the usual siphon tube i3 which extends tothe lower end of the cylinder so as to discharge the liquefied gas underpressure of gas in the upper portion of the cylinder. Mounted on theupper end of the stem I2 is a discharge head which will be describedpresently.

Since occasionally such discharge heads are broken off by carelesshandling of the cylinders, I provide a safety valve to check dischargeof the cylinder. The weakest part of the stem, where breakage takesplace, is at a point just above the neck I of the cylinder, and it isbelow this point that the safety valve is provided. While check valvesof various forms might be used I prefer the structure shown in thedrawings.

Within the zone of the neck II the bore of the stem I2 is enlarged toform a valve chamber 20. A disk valve 2| is provided in this chamber,and normally rests on the upper end of the siphon tube l8. 0n the diskare formed guide vanes 22 which project into a portion 23 of the boreabove the valve chamber. When the valve is raised to permit discharge ofthe fluid from the cylinder, these vanes strike a shoulder 24 in thebore before the disk rises sufficiently to engage a shoulder 25 formingthe ,upper limit of the valve chamber, so that the fluid may flow freelyaround the disk valve and on up through the bore of the neck stem l2.However, should the stem |2 be broken oil! the break would occur belowthe shoulder 24, since this is above the weakest part of the stem. Suchbreakage would permit the disk to move outward far enough to seatagainst the shoulder 25 and check the outflow of fluid. Normally thiswould seal the cylinder against discharge but it is advisable to providesome means permitting slight discharge so that if the fluid should beexpanded by heat it would not develop suillcient pressure to burst thecylinder. Because the fit between the disk 2| and the shoulder 25 is nota perfect one, a certain amount oi leakage may take place. However, Iprefer to provide a port 21 through the disk which will be small enoughto permit a controlled discharge of the cylinder. This port also servesto admit fluid into the cylinder when it is being filled, since duringthe fllling operation the disk valve 2| will normally be seated on thetop of the siphon tube I8.

The discharge head above referred to comprises a main body 30 which isattached to the upper end of the stem by a coupling nut 3 I. The body 30is formed with a lower chamber 32 into which the fluid discharges whenthe sealing disk I4 is ruptured and connected to this discharge chamberis a discharge pipe 33.

In the upper part of the body 30 is formed a cylinder chamber 34 inwhich fits a piston 35. The latter is journaled on a stem 36, being heldbetween a shoulder 31 on the stem at one side and a nut 38 on the otherside. This nut, however, is threaded on the stem against a shoulder 39so that it may be tightened without gripping the piston sufilciently toprevent turning of the latter freely on the stem. A plug 40 closes theupper end of the cylinder. The stem 36 is journaled in the plug and isprovided at its outer end with a handle or operating arm 4|.

The stem 36 is threaded through the wall 42 separating chamber 34 fromchamber 32, and swiveled on a reduced end portion 43 of the stem is ahollow cylindrical cutter 44. This cutter is provided at its lower endwith an annular cutting edge inclined from normal to the axis of thecutgesr and interrupted at the inner side by a recess the flap 46 cutout of the sealing disk by the cutting edge, may be bent by pressure ofthe fluid discharge from the cylinder. The flap consequently is notdetached from the disk but remains integrally hinged thereto and isflattened against the inner surface of the annular cutter by the fluiddischarge. An annular shoulder 41 on the cutter is adapted to engage theplug l6 as a stop and prevents the possibility of detaching the flap.Near its upper end the cutter is provided with ports 43 through whichthe fluid may discharge into the chamber 32 and thence into thedischarge pipe 33.

The piston stem 36 is formed with an axial duct or bore 49 whichterminates at its upper end in a transverse bore 50 opening into thecylinder chamber 34 above the piston 35. The lower end of the bore 49 isclosed by a screw 5|, the head of which serves to retain the tubularcutter upon the end portion 43 of the piston stem. There is anothertransverse bore 52 which intersects the bore 49 and which opens throughthe threaded portion .of the stem. The bore 52 is normally disconnectedfrom the discharge chamber 32 when the stem is in the raised positionshown in Fig. 2, but when the stem is screwed down and the cutter isabout to penetrate the sealing disk the bore or port 52 is uncovered,permitting fluid to pass from the discharge chamber 32 into the cylinderchamber 34 above the piston. The lower end of the cylinder chamber isprovided with an air vent 53.

It will be evident that when the handle 4| is operated to force thecutter downward there will be no resistance to movement of this cutteruntil it strikes the cylinder disk l4, and thereafter, as soon as thedisk is slightly punctured, fluid escaping into the discharge chamberwill pass through the transverse bore 52, now uncovered, into the'axialbore 49 and thence through transverse bore 50 into the cylinder chamber34, and the fluid acting on the piston will force down the The latterprovides a, shoulder about which cutter so as to complete the cuttingopen of the flap. The cooperating threads on the piston stem and in thewall 42 are of such steep pitch angle that movement oi. the handle iithrough a small arc will carry the cutter from normal position shown inFig. 2 to the end of its cutting stroke as shown in Fig. 3. Also becauseof the steepness of the threads, the pressure of the fluid released fromthe cylinder will be suflicient to force the piston 35 downward. As thepiston moves downward in the chamber 3t air under the piston is ventedthrough the port 53.

While the piston 35 might be fixed to the stem 36 I prefer to have itjournalled thereon so that frictional engagement between the piston andcylinder wall will not retard the rotation of the stem. Obviously,because of the smaller bearing surface of the piston on the stem thanthe bearing surface of. the piston on the cylinder, there will belessresistance to overcome when turning the stem to feed the cutterdownward and the piston 'may slide in the cylinder without rotating.

The discharge pipe 33 is connected by a T-fitting to the main deliverypipe 56. In afire extinguishing system comprising a plurality ofcylinders In it is desirable to provide a check valve between eachdischarge chamber and the delivery pipe, and I prefer to provide thischeck valve in the T-fitting 55. This T-fltting comprises a pair ofaligned threaded ports 5? and 58 to receive sections of the deliverypipe 5% and a transversely disposed port 59 into which a nipple 60 isthreaded, the latter being coupled to the discharge pipe 33. Oppositethe port 59 there is an enlarged opening in the fitting which isnormally closed by screw plug 52. Surrounding the port 59 there is avalve seat 63 on which normally rests a disk valve 64. The latter isconfined against lateral displacement by lugs 65. To guide the diskvalve when it is raised from its seat fingers 66 are formed on the diskwhich enter a recess 61 in the screw plug 62. When there is a dischargeof fluid through the pipe 33 the disk valve is lifted 01f its seat andthe fingers 66 as well as the lugs prevent the disk from shifting tionwithout disturbing the fire protection sysprovide for a certain amountof discharge from tern. In other words, when the cylinder isdisconnected from the discharge pipe 33 or the pipe itself isdisconnected from the T-fltting, fluid may be introduced into thedischarge line 56 without material loss because the port 59 is out offby the disk 64. However, it is necessary to the main discharge linethrough the disk valve 64 for a purpose which will be explainedpresently and to this end I provide a port 68 in the disk.

In Figure 1, I show a battery of cylinders each provided with adischarge head of the same type as that shown in Fig. 2 and each havinga discharge pipe which is connected to a delivery pipe (not shown). Thehandles ll of the discharge heads are connected toa common operating rodor cable 10, so that they may all be pulled simultaneously. However, topenetrate all of the oylinder disks at the same time would require avtion of the body 'H.

through a plug 16 closing the upper end of the greater effort than couldbe exerted manually by a normal individual. I, therefore, arrange thebattery of cylinders so that one cylinder will be discharged ahead ofthe others and the fluid released from this first cylinder will assistin caus-v ing the puncturing of the disks of the rest of the cylinders.This may be done by setting one of the cutter heads with its cutternearer the cylinder disk than are the cutters of the other cylinders.The simplest way of effecting such advance operation is to give one ofthe handles ti a slight lead over the rest. Thus, in Figure 1 the handle4! of the cylinder A at the extreme right of the battery is angularlydisplaced toward the right with respect to the other handles so thatwhen the rod or cable Ill is pulled the cutter of the cylinder A willpenetrate its sealing disk before the other cutters have penetratedtheir sealing disks. As soon as-fluid is released from the cylinder A itwill enter the delivery line 56 and will pass into the dischargechambers of all of the other cylinders by way of their respectivedischarge pipes 33. The volume of fluid entering said discharge chamberswill be comparatively small, being restricted by the size of the ports63 in the disk valves controlling said discharge pipes. The fluid willthen serve to actuate the pistons of said other cylinders as soon astheir piston stems 36 have been manually screwed downward sufficientlyto uncover their transverse bores 52. As a result of this arrangement,the only effort necessary to set off a battery of cylinders is thatrequired to puncture slightly the sealing disk of cylinder A and tocondition the discharge heads of the rest of the cylinders for operationby screwing down their piston stems sumciently to uncover their ports52. Thereafter puncturing of the sealing disk of cyl inder A will beeffected by the energy of its own fluid and such fluid will furnish theenergy necessary to puncture the sealing disks of all of the rest of thecylinders. The reason for the port 68 will now be apparent. It permitsfluid from the delivery line to pass into the discharge head of thecylinder it controls, and at the same time should it be necessary todisconnect the cylinder the leakage of fluid through said port would notbe suificient materially to effect delivery of fluid to the dischargeend of the delivery line. If necessary two or more of the arms 4! may beset to cause initial discharge of the cylinders with which they areassociated.

In Fig. 5, I show a slightly modified form of discharge head. Thisstructure differs from that shown in Figs, 2 and 3 mainly in the factthat the piston stem is not rotated to effect cutting of the sealingdisk.

The discharge head ii, in Fig. 5, is similar to the head 30, having astem 12 with a tubular cutter l3 connected to the lower end thereof. Apiston H connected to the stem 12 operates in a cylinder chamber I5formed in the upper por- The stem 12 projects cylinder, and theprojecting end of the stem is provided with ahead 11. A spring 18 isfitted under the piston 14 and serves to hold the cutte normally in theraised position shown.

The plug 16 is provided with a threaded boss 19 on which is screwed acap 80. A lever is pivoted to the cap and has one arm 8| within the capand another arm 82 projecting out-- wardly through an opening in thecap. A roller carried by the inner arm 8| bears upon the head,

11. The arm 82 may serve as a handle for direct manual operation or itmay be connected to a rod or cable as is the arm 4| in Fig. 1. Bypulling thelarm 82 the stem will be depressed. causing the cutter 13 topuncture the sealing disk. As soon as fluid is released from thecylinder it will force its way through a lateral port 84 in the stem andthence through an axial bore 85 and lateral port 86 into the upper partof the cylinder IS. The fluid pressure will then complete the depressionof the piston. Also when the stem is depressed sufllciently to uncoverport 84 the apparatus will be conditioned for operation by fluidintroduced into the discharge head from another cylinder.

Heretofore in systems employing fluid actuated discharge mechanism andin which the fluid discharged from any one of a battery of cylinderswould actuate the rest of the battery, it has been necessary to providea safety disk, as disclosed in said copending application Serial No,349,150. This safety disk is adapted 'to rupture at a pressure lowerthan that which the sealing disk can support. Hence, if, due to a risein temperature, the pressure of the fluid in the cylinder should riseabove a safe limit the safety disk would give way, relieving thepressure. This safety disk protects the sealing disk, for if the latterwere to be ruptured by a rise of fluid pressure in the cylinder thefluid would discharge into the delivery line and would set off theentire battery of cylinders. With my present invention the safety diskmay be dispensed with and the sealing disk may serve as a safety device,because no harm will result from such rupture. The contents of thecylinder will discharge into the line but other cylinders connected tothe line will not be discharged by the fluid pressure in the linebecause the duct in each discharge head leading from the dischargechamber to the cylinder chamber thereof will be closed.

It will be noted that the'siphon tube I8 is virtually suspended in thecontainer by threading its upper end into the neck stem I2. I have foundthat if the threaded part of the siphon 7 tube extends below said stemthe tube may be snapped off by a sudden jolt, such as would occur if thecontainer were knocked over or dropped on its side. To avoid this dangerthe stem is counter-bored as indicated at 81, providing a tight flt forthe stem below the threaded part thereof, thereby materiallystrengthening the connection between the tube and the stem, because atthe point of greatest stress, namely along the line where the tubeemerges from the stem, said tube is not weakened by the cutting of athread therein.

The cutter shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 5, is designed to operate withoutturning, the flap in the sealing disk being cut out by direct pressurein the axial direction. In Figs. 6 and 7, I show another form of cutterwhich turns while engaging the disk so that it will first score and thenshear the disk instead of merely punching it. However, this scoring andshearing action takes place through an angle of less than 360 degreeswas to leave a substantial part of the flap cut out integrally attachedto the body of the disk.

In general the discharge head shown in Fig. 6 is similar to that shownin Fig. 2 and like parts are therefore indicated by the same referencenumerals. The principal difierence however is that the cutter is fixedto the stem of the piston 35. The stem is indicated in Fig. 6 by thereference numeral 36a and is threaded into a socket formed in the upperend of the cutter 90. As shown more clearly in Fig. '7, the cutter 80 istubular and is formed with an arcuate cutting edge SI of considerablyless than 360 degrees in extent, which cutting edge lies in a planenormal to the axis of the tubular cutter instead of being inclinedthereto as in the cutter 44. This cutting edge 9| is interrupted on oneside by a shallow recess forming a blunt shoulder 92 which is steppedout of the plane of the cutting edge 9|. The cutter is also providedwith an annular shoulder 93 which is adapted to engage the tubular plugor sleeve nut It to limit downward movement of the cutter and preventthe shoulder 92 from being forced through the disk.

The stem 36a is provided with a threaded portion 42a which is threadedinto the main body of the discharge head and there is an axial bore 49ain the stem which communicates at one end with a transverse bore 500.opening into the cylinder chamber above the piston while anothertransverse bore 52a opens through the threaded portion 42a and is closedwhen the parts are in the normal position shown in Fig. 6. The lower endof the axial bore 49a is closed by the bottom wall 90a. of the socketinto which the stem is threaded. It will be understood, of course, thatthe cutter is provided with openings 94 through which gas liberated fromthe container may escape into the chamber 32 and thence pass out throughthe tube 33 to the delivery line.

The operation of this cutter is as follows:

The piston stem 36a carries the operating arm 4| which is attached tothe pull rod or cable 10, as in Fig. l, and the parts are so arrangedthat this arm turns through an angle of approximately 90' degrees inmoving the cutter from the normal position illustrated to completecutting position. In the latter position the shoulders 93 engage thesleeve nut l6 and prevent further longitudinal movement of the cutter.Fig. 8 illustrates the initial position of the cutter in broken lines onthe sealing disk M. The shouldered portion 92 is here shown as extendingthrough an angle of 135 degrees, while the sharpened edge 9| embraces anarc of 225 degrees. While the arm 4| is moving initially through anangle of about 45 degrees the cutter is being advanced toward the diskl4 until it comes into engagement therewith. During this interval nocutting takes place but the piston stem is moved in axial directionsufllciently for the bore 52a to be uncovered, so that if any fluid hasbeen admitted into the chamber 32 through the pipe 33, it will flnd itsway through the stem to the top of the piston chamber 34 and will thenact upon the piston either to assist in further movement of the arm 4|or else to assume the entire task of forcing the piston the rest of theway down to complete cutting of the disk. Fig. 9 illustrates theposition of the cutter after the arm 4| has moved through the initial 45degrees and the cutter is just beginning to score the disk. As the armis moved through the second 45 degrees the cutter begins to bite intothe disk, and eventually shears through the disk.

until it finally reaches the position indicated by broken lines in Fig.10. When the latter position is reached, the disk will have been cut andscored through an angle of 270 degrees and the pressure of the fluid inthe cylinder III will force out the cut portion of the disk 46. Fig. 11shows the flap in an instantaneous position as it is being forced upwardinto the tubular cutter. The

force of the compressed gas in the cylinder is suflicient to tear theflap along the scored parts and to bend it up about the shoulder 92 asan anvil, flattening the flap against the inner cylindrical wall of thecutter.

As described in co-pending application Serial No. 349,150, filed March22, 1929, it is necessary to provide a shoulder about which the flap maybe bent as otherwise the sudden bursting out of the flap under pressureof the gas is likely to tear the flap free of the disk and carry it intothe discharge head. Such a loose piece of metal might jam and obstructthe ports 96, or it might actually be blown out to the discharge pointand in case of a fire in electrical machinery it might do considerabledamage by providing a short circuit. As described in said application,the danger of tearing the flap loose is obviated by providing theshoulder 92 which comes sub stantially into engagement with the disk atthe time when the flap is burst out of the disk.

The advantage of using a cutter of this type over that shown in Fig. 2is that less effort is required to score and shear the flap'out of thedisk than to actually punch the flap out of the disk the combinedshearing and scoring takes place from the point A to the point B, Fig.10, leaving an uncut and unsheared hinge portion of about 90 degrees inextent. Actually in practice the tearing action may extend a littlebeyond the points A,

1. A device for opening a fluid container, comprising a fluid pressureactuable means for'opening the container, an external supply ofactuating fluid under pressure for actuating said means, said meansbeing normally in condition preventing operation thereof by saidactuating fluid, and conditioning means for conditioning the first-namedmeans to permit operation thereof by said fluid.

2. A device for opening a fluid container comprising an opening member,means actuable by fluid pressure upon a surface thereof for operatingthe opening member, conduit means for supplying actuating fluid from anoutside source to said surface, said fluid actuable means beingnormallyin a position interrupting flow from the conduit means to saidsurface but movable to a position to permit such flow to said surface soas to operate the fluid actuable means, and a conlaroller for movingsaid means to the latter posiion. 3. A device for opening a fluidcontainer, comprising an opening member, an actuator movable by fluidpressure to operate said member, an external supply of actuating fluidunder pressure for operating the actuator, the actuator in its normalposition being operatively inaccessible to said actuating fluid, andmeans for moving the actuator into a position in which it will beoperatively accessible to said actuating fluid.

4. A device for opening a container holding fluid under pressure, saiddevice comprising an In the particular design of cutter illustrated,v

opening member, an actuator movable by fluid pressure to operate theopening member to release the fluid from the container, an externalsource of fluid under pressure, a connection for supplying fluidreleased from the container and/ or fluid from said external source tooperate said actuator, the latter being normally in a position closingcommunication through said connection but being movable to a position toestablish such connection, and means for moving the actuator to thelatter position.

5. A discharge head for a container holding fluid under pressure andclosed by a sealing disk, said head comprising a body formed with. adischarge chamber and with a cylinder chamber, a member in the dischargechamber for rupturing the disk, a piston in the cylinder chamber, meansoperatively connecting the member and the piston, a connection forleading fluid from the discharge chamber into the cylinder chamber todepress the piston and operate the rupturing member, said connectionbeing positively closed to passage of fluid therethrough until thepiston has been depressed to a predetermined extent, and means fordepressing the piston.

6. A discharge head for a container holding fluid under pressure andclosed by a sealing disk, said head comprising a body formed with adischarge chamber and a cylinder chamber, a piston in the cylinderchamber having a stem project- '7. A discharge head for a containerholding fluid under pressure and closed by a sealing disk, said headcomprising a body formed with a discharge chamber and a cylinder chamberseparated by an intervening wall constructed and arranged to preventpassage of fluid between the chambers, a stem threaded through saidwall, a

member for rupturing the disk located in the discharge chamber andconnected to said stem, a piston fitted in the cylinder chamber and connected to the stem, the coacting threads on the stern and wall being ofsuch pitch that pressure applied on the'piston will move the stemaxially, the stem being formed with a duct opening at one end above thepiston and normally closed at the other end by said wall but adapted tocommunicate with the discharge chamber when the stem is turned angularlyto a predetermined extent,

and means for turning the stem angularly.

8. A discharge'head for a container holding fluid under pressure andclosed by a sealing disk, said head comprising a body formed with adischarge chamber and a cylinder chamber separated by an interveningwall constructed and arranged to prevent passage of fluid between thechambers, a stem threaded through said wall, a member for rupturing thedisk located in the discharge chamber and connected to said stem, apiston fitted inthe cylinder chamber and rotatable on the stem but heldagainst axial movement thereon, the coacting threads on the stem andwallbeing of such pitch that pressure applied on thepiston will move thestem axially, the stem being formedywith'a duct opening at one end abovethe pis'tonand normally closed at the other end by said wall'but adaptedto communicate with -thedischarge-chamber when the stem is turnedangularly to a predetermined extent, and means for turning the stemangularly.

9. A discharge head for a container holding fluid under pressure andclosed by a sealing disk, said head comprising a body formed with adischarge chamber and a cylinder chamber separated by an interveningwall constructed and arranged to prevent passage of fluid between thechambers, a stem threaded through said wall, a member for rupturing thedisk connected to said stem in the discharge chamber, a piston in thecylinder chamber and rotatable on the stem but held against axialmovement thereon, the stem being formed with a duct opening at one endabove the piston and normally closed at the other end by said wall butadapted to communicate with the discharge chamber when the stem isturned sufflciently to rupture the disk, said stem projecting from thehead, and means attached to the proiecting end for angularly turning thestem, the pitch angle of the threaded connection of the stem with thewall being steep enough to permit depression of the piston by pressureof the fluid released upon rupturing the disk.

10. In combination a plurality of containers each holding fluid underpressure, a fluid pressure actuable device associated with eachcontainer for effecting discharge of fluid therefrom, a conduit forsupplying actuating fluid to the devices, said conduit being normallyout of communication with each device, a controller for establishingcommunication with each of the devices, and means operated by saidcontroller for supplying actuating fluid to said conduit.

11. In combination a plurality of containers each holding fluid underpressure, a common fluid discharge conduit for the containers, a fluidpressure actuable device associated with each con tainer for controllingdischarge of fluid therefrom into the conduit, such devices beingnormally operatively out of communication with the conduit but which canbe placed into communication with the conduit, an external source offluid under pressure normally out of communication with the conduit, anda control means for establishing communication between said conduit andsaid source and for establishing operative communication between theconduit and each of said devices so as to supply actuating fluidthereto.

12. In combination a plurality of containers each holding fluid underpressure, an opening device for each container, a common fluid dischargeconduit for said containers, an actuating element for each device, acommon control for operating said elements, auxiliary actuating meansactuable by fluid pressure for operating each device, and a connectionnormally disconnected but adapted to establish communication between theconduit and each of said means upon initial operation of the device,enact the opening devices being adjusted for operation by said controlin advance of the others, so as to discharge fluid into the conduit tooperate said auxiliary actuating means and thereby assist in operatingthe opening devices.

13. In combination, a plurality of containers each holding fluid underpressure, an opening device for each container, a common fluid dischargeconduit ior said containers, a lever for operating each device, a commoncontrol interconnecting said levers, one of the levers being adjustedfor advance operation with respect to the others, auxiliary actuatingmeans actuable by fluid pressure for operating each device, and aconnection normally disconnected but adapted to establish communicationbetween the conduit and each of said means upon initial operation ofsaid common control whereby fluid discharged into the conduit byoperation of the opening device connected with the lever adjusted foradvance operation will operate said auxiliary actuating means to assistin operating the opening devices.

14. In combination, a plurality of fluid containers, a discharge line,connecting means for detachably connecting each container to said line,fluid actuable discharge means for controlling the discharge of eachcontainer into said line, means operable at will to admit fluid from theline to actuate each discharge means, and a check valve for eachconnecting means opening toward the line and constructed when in closedposition to provide limited outflow from the line.

15. In combination, a plurality of fluid containers, a discharge line,connecting means for detachably connecting each container to said line,fluid actuable discharge means for controlling the discharge of eachcontainer into said line, means operable at will to admit fluid from theline to actuate each discharge means, and a check valve for eachconnecting means opening toward the line, said valve having an orificetherethrough for the passage of fluid to actuate the discharge means.

16. In combination, a fluid container, means for controlling dischargeof fluid therefrom, said container having a zone of weakness spacedinwardly from said means, and safety means for preventing uncontrolleddischarge of fluid from the container should the latter be severed atsaid zone of weakness, said safety means being inoperative to preventdischarge from the container when the latter is intact.

17. In combination, a fluid container having a discharge port, closuremeans therefor, a valve seat spaced inwardly from the closure means, acheck valve movable outwardly to engage the seat, the container having acircumferential zone of weakness between the seat and the closure means,and stop means disposed outwardly of said zone and adapted normally toprevent seating of the valve.

18. In combination, a fluid container having a discharge port, closuremeans therefor, a valve seat spaced inwardly from the closure means, acheck valve movable outwardly to engage the seat, the container having acircumferential zone of weakness between the seat and the closure means,and stop means disposed outwardly of said zone and adapted normally toprevent seating of the valve, said valve having a constricted openingtherethrough.

19. In combination, a fluid container having a discharge port and afilling port, a closure for each port, a pair of valve seats disposedinwardly from said ports, a valve disposed between said seats andnormally bearing on the inner seat, the container having acircumferential zone of weakness between the outer seat and said ports,stop means disposed outwardly of said zone for preventing the valve fromseating on the outer seat unless the container is severed at said zone,and by-pass means permitting limited flow past the valve when it isbearing on either seat.

20. A discharge head for a container holding fluid under pressure andclosed by a sealing disk, said head comprising a body adapted to beconnected to the container, a puncturing member constructed and arrangedto be operated by longitudinal movement without rotation, an actuatorfor advancing the member to puncture the disk, a threaded connectionbetween the body and the actuator whereby the latter may be advanced byrotation with respect to the body, and a swivel connection between theactuator and the member whereby said member may be operatively advancedwithout rotation.

21. A device for opening a fluid container, comprising an openingmember, an actuator rotatable by application of fluid pressure to asurface thereof to operate the opening member, conduit means forsupplying operating fluid to said surface, said actuator being normallyin a position to interrupt communication of said fluid to said surfacebut being-movable to a position to establish such communication, and acontroller for moving the actuator to the latter position.

22. A device for opening a fluid container, comprising an openingmember, an actuator rotatable by application of fluid pressure to asurface thereof to operate the opening member, conduit means forsupplying operating fluid to said surface, said actuator being normallyin a position to interrupt communication of said fluid to said surfacebut being rotatable to a position to establish such communication, and acontroller for rotating the actuator to the latter position.

23. A device for opening a fluid container, comprising an opening memberoperable by axial movement, an actuator carrying said member androtatable by application of fluid pressure to a surface thereof tooperate said member, there being a swivel connection between the openingmember and the actuator, means for conducting fluid released from thecontainer to said surface to rotate the actuator, said actuator beingnormally' in a position to interrupt communication of said fluid to saidsurface but being rotatable to a position to, establish suchcommunication,

and a controller for initiating operation of the opening means andmoving the actuator to the latter position.

24. A device for opening a fluid container, comprising an opening memberoperable by axial movement, an actuator carrying said member androtatable by application of fluid pressure to a surface thereof tooperate said member, there being a swivel connection between the openingmember and the actuator, means for conducting fluid released from thecontainer to said surface to rotate the actuator, said actuator beingnormally in a position to interrupt communication of said fluid to saidsurface but being rotatable to a position to establish suchcommunication, and auxiliary means for moving said actuator to initiateoperation of the opening member and condition the actuator for operationby the fluid released by the opening member.

25. A device for opening a fluid container, comprising an opening memberoperable by axial movement, an actuator carrying said member pressure toa surface thereof to operate said member, there being a swivelconnection between the opening member and the actuator, means forconducting fluid released from the container to said surface to move theactuator, said actuator being normally in a position to interruptcommunication of said fluid to said surface but being movable to aposition to establish such operative communication, and a controllerangu- 5 larly operable to move the actuator to the latter position andinitiate operation of the opening means.

26. ,A discharge head for a container holding fluid under pressure andclosed by a sealing disk. said head comprising a body formed with adischarge chamber and with a cylinder chamber, a member in the dischargechamber operable by axial movement to rupture the disk, a piston in thecylinder chamber, a rotatable member connecting the rupturing memberhaving a swivel connection with the rupturing member and the piston, aconnection constituting the sole means for leading fluid from thedischarge chamber into the upper end of the cylinder chamber to depressthe piston and rotate the connecting member and thereby operate therupturing member, communication between the chamber through saidconnection being interrupted when the connecting member is in its normalposition but being established after the piston has been depressed to apredetermined extent, and means for depressing the piston.

27. A discharge head for a container holding fluid under pressure andclosed by a sealing disk, said head comprising a body formed with adischarge chamber and a cylinder chamber, an intervening wall preventingpassage of fluid between the chambers, a stem threaded through saidwall, a member for rupturing the disk located in the discharge chamberand connected to said stem, a piston fltted in the cylinder chamber andconnected to the stem, the coacting threads on the stem and wall beingof such pitch that pressure applied to the piston will move the stemaxially, the stem being formed with a duct opening at one end above thepiston and normally closed at the other end by said wall but adapted tocommunicate with the discharge chamber when the stem is turned angularlytoa predetermined extent, and. means for turning the stem angularly.

28. A discharge head for a container holding fluid under pressure andclosed by a sealing disk, said head comprising a body formed with adischarge chamber and a cylinder chamber, an intervening wall preventingpassage of fluid between the chambers, a stem threaded through saidwall, a member for. rupturing the disk connected to saidstem in thedischarge chamber, a piston in the cylinder chamber rotatable on thestem but held against axial movement thereon, the stem being formed witha duct opening at one end above the piston and normally closed at theother end by said wall but adapted to communicate with the dischargechamber when the stem is turned sufficiently to rupture the disk, saidstem projecting from the head, and means attached to the projecting endfor angularly turning the stem, the pitch angle of the threadedconnection of the stem with the wall being steep enough to permitdepression of the piston by pressure of the fluid released uponrupturing the disk.

29. In combination a plurality of containers each holding fluid underpressure, an opening device for each container, a common fluid dischargeconduit for said containers, a rotary actuator for each said device, acommon control for operating the actuators, auxiliary actuating meansactuable by fluid pressure for operating each device, and meansproviding a passage normally closed but arranged to open communicationbetween the conduit and each of said means upon initial operation of thedevice, one of the opening devices being adjusted for operation by saidcontrol in advance of the others, so discharge fluid into the conduit tooperate said vices.

31. A releasing device for use in connection with a fluid containerhaving an opening, a frangible closure member for the opening and apenetrating device adapted to penetrate said closure member by axialmovement of the device to provide iree passage through said closure,comprising, a body forming a chamber, fluid operated means in saidchamber, a rotary stem having a in the stem for delivering said fluid tosaid face and also to deliver fluid from the container to

